CCISD holds meet and greet for CCHS’s new principal

By PAMELA GRANT

Cove Leader-Press

Parents and students had the opportunity to meet Carlin Grammer, Copperas Cove High School’s new principal.

Grammer participated in a meet and greet in the Lea Ledger Auditorium last Thursday at 6 p.m. where he gave a brief presentation introducing himself, his background, and what he hopes to accomplish as high school principal.

Grammer grew up in Imperial TX with only 12 in his graduating class. He then attended Sul Ross State University and got his Bachelor of Science and later his Master of Education. He is currently attending Liberty University and working on earning a doctorate in philosophy in organizational leadership.

Grammer worked at Crane High School for 5 years as a teacher and 11 years as a principal, then he worked as a 10-12th grade principal for Midland High School for 3 years, after which he was the principal at La Porte High School for the last 7 years. La Porte High School is similar in size to CCHS and is an upper level 5A school whereas CCHS is considered lower level 6A as far as numbers go.

Grammer described himself as “unabashedly Christian” and talked about his core beliefs which he feels will shape his time as CCHS principal.

“First and foremost, I believe that all students can learn. In fact, I know they can learn,” said Grammer. “They may not all learn at the same rate or in the same way, but that’s our job that we work that out here and we work that out with you to make sure that our students are successful.”

Grammer called education the great equalizer and said that it’s important that they make sure to provide a strong foundation for all of their students. To this end, Grammer said that the job of the school isn’t just to teach the students, it’s to teach the students how to learn. He talked about how, with technology today, students can access all sorts of information and it’s their job to teach students how to utilize that information in the best and most effective way possible.

“We want to create students who take ownership of their own learning,” said Grammer. “They take that information and make good choices with it, and they become lifelong learners.”

Grammer stressed the importance of literacy, calling it the key to education. He wants to spend a lot of time stressing the importance of writing and speaking.

“I am a firm believer in the importance of public education,” said Grammer.

Grammer also discussed a desire to include strong parent/school relationships asking parents to be involved. He wants to keep children safe physically, mentally, and academically. He wants to make sure that all students are college, career, or military ready upon graduation from CCHS. CCHS already has an extremely high rate of success in that category which Grammer hopes to continue.

After his speech, Grammer invited families to chat with him and ask any questions they might have.

Dena Crain, who brought her son, Landon Crain (17), to the meet and greet, asked Grammer about her concerns about campus security. Grammer said that they have plans in place such as adding fencing, checking doors, and making sure people are where they are supposed to be. He also invited her to come to him should she have any specific concerns.

“It did make me feel a lot better,” said Dena Crain. “My family has been in Copperas Cove since 2007…A lot of what he’s looking to do for the school was refreshing. Its going to be a good change and I think it’s going to work really well with the campus and give a better outlook for the future of our kids.”

She said that she likes that he plans to hold teachers accountable and that he plans to heavily focus on literacy which is an area she feels many graduating teens are currently lacking.

“When I was in Washington at my other high school, there was a bunch of security issues…so if he does it better, that would be good,” said Landon Crain.

Superintendent Dr. Joe Burns said that he feels really good about Grammer as the new high school principal.

“We are extremely excited about Mr. Grammer,” said Dr. Burns. “He is user friendly, he’s experienced, and I think that he is very focused on students. We’re excited about that and look forward to a great school year.”